Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $284.00.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Barclays began coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $342.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wedbush raised their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $240.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASND opened at $223.41 on Friday. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 1 year low of $124.06 and a 1 year high of $242.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.77 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $215.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.06.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.58). The business had revenue of $290.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $285.35 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% during the third quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,110,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,015,919,000 after acquiring an additional 130,000 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,060,616 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $608,481,000 after purchasing an additional 13,685 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 1.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,901,843 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $328,258,000 after purchasing an additional 23,926 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 95.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,798,931 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $357,645,000 after purchasing an additional 880,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,026,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $218,871,000 after purchasing an additional 232,730 shares in the last quarter.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Company Profile

Ascendis Pharma A/S is a Denmark‐based biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies for rare endocrine diseases. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Hellerup, the company leverages its proprietary TransCon drug delivery platform to create long‐acting prodrugs designed to improve safety, efficacy and patient convenience. Ascendis Pharma maintains research and development operations in Europe and the United States, with clinical studies spanning North America, Europe and Asia.

The company’s lead product, lonapegsomatropin (Skytrofa®), is a once‐weekly growth hormone therapy approved by the U.S.